The present invention relates to the fabrication of lens design for electron emitters, particularly those electron emitters used in mass storage and display devices often incorporated in many electronic devices.
Computing technology continues to become less expensive while providing more capability. To allow computing technology to continue these positive trends, peripheral devices such as mass storage devices and display devices must continue to advance. Much criticism has been voiced in the trade press about the lack of mass storage devices such as disk drives, CD-ROMs, and DVD drives, to name a few, to increase their data rates up with the advancing speed of the microprocessors found in contemporary personal computers. However, hard disk drives, for example have been able to increase their storage density tremendously over the last decade but are now encountering physical limitations that prevents further progress in this area. Display devices, such as LCD monitors have had difficulty in fulfilling demand due to the complexity of manufacturing them with near-zero defects. Further, the use of passive LCD technology has required the addition of backlights to allow for viewing in different ambient light conditions thereby adding cost and increasing power requirements.
Electron beam technology has been present for many years in consumer products such as television (TV) tubes and computer monitors. These devices use what is known as “hot cathode” electrodes to create a source of electrons that are directed to and focused on the viewing screen. While research has taken place in a number of new technological fields with emission devices, the field of “cold cathode” electron emitters such as Spindt-tips and flat emitters has attracted the attention of many manufacturers.
Several problems exist in converting this cold cathode technology to products. One such problem is the creation of an electron focusing structure that can be used in multiple applications that require a high density of cold cathode emitting devices such as with mass storage and display devices. Conventionally, dielectric materials are used as spacer material between the electron focusing structure and the electron emitter. However, the cost and complexity of building the electron focusing structure with dielectric material hinders the rapid development of new products using cold cathode technology. In order to further the introduction of new products using cold cathode technology, more cost effective and simpler processes for building electron focusing structures and ultimately the mass storage and display devices are needed.